Edible garden moves into containers

America's brutal summer is winding down, and fall is fast approaching, but it's not too late to reap the benefits of one more planting.

William Moss is a horticultural educator, master gardener and author of "Any Size, Anywhere Edible Gardening: The No Yard, No Time, No Problem Way to Grow Your Own Food" (Cool Springs Press). He says that by this time of year, a lot of people are ready to pack it in till spring. That's a mistake.

"I think a lot of times people who are gardeners, and even garden centers, think garden season ends on Labor Day," Moss says. "If you're in the north, you have till mid-October. We still have plenty of time to get things to grow. In Chicago (where he lives), we haven't had a hard frost till mid-November the last few years. For people down South, once you're in zone 7, Kentucky, North Carolina, parts of Arkansas, you can grow crops year-round."

He suggests growing your own microgreens. Organic and very expensive at upscale grocery stores, you can do it quickly and cheaply in limited space. But start now.

"Buy packs of lettuce or mixed field greens," he says. "Sow those in a container with good rich soil. Let them come up 3 to 5 inches — it will take 2 to 3 weeks — then completely shear them back. In another week, they'll grow back. Last year I had them from September till mid-January."

The microgreen idea is one that didn't get into Moss' book, which is nonetheless loaded with ideas for those with limited growing space. For each fruit or vegetable, Moss gives a thumbnail sketch — culture, yield, mature plant size, where to grow them, age to ripeness — to get the gardener off on the right foot. Moss (getoutandgrow.com) had several other valuable suggestions for gardeners trying containers:

The balcony: Even in such a restricted space, a gardener can grow a nice crop. Moss offers a couple of charts that focus on topics such as vegetables in small spaces and the top 10 edibles for containers. "Bush beans, chili peppers, kale, lemon thyme, patio tomatoes … if you really have only a small amount of room, put a few of these in, they're all superproducers. They are bred to do well in containers." He also suggests rotating your crops: kales, radishes and field greens in the spring, bush beans, chili peppers and tomatoes in the summer, then field greens and kale again in the fall. "Each pot should have at least one herb. One herb and one veggie. That way you'll always have something productive."

Grow your favorites, but …: Moss says it's pointless for him to tell someone to grow butternut squash because it's easy, if that person doesn't like it. Grow something you like. But also experiment. Throw a bean plant or two in, or some peppers. "I say that for two reasons. One, you don't know what you don't know. You may come across some tasty eggplant or spinach. And two, it's a protection against crop failure. If a disease or a pest comes in and likes your crop, you can lose an entire crop. We saw that with Dutch elm disease in the '50s, where whole blocks of trees disappeared. People learned you can't plant just one type of anything. Whether you're planting a city or a patio, always have diversity in crops."

Watering: Getting enough water to the plants is the biggest trouble with containers, Moss says. They need to be watered every other day, at least. If you're going on vacation, maybe ask friends, neighbors or nearby kids to help. But you can also set up your own drip irrigation system or use gator bags. In the book, he tells how to set up a self-watering pot.

Time commitment: It's pretty minimal, all things considered. "They're so much easier," Moss says. "It's really easy to grow a good crop. You start with the soil you want, not what's there. You've got sterilized soil, so there are fewer weeds. And you've added nutrients. … You put a nice healthy tomato or pepper plant or chili plant in a container, it takes care of itself."